Barack Obama urges voters to reject 'politics of division' as he returns to campaign trail

Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail on Thursday for the first time since he left the White House, urging voters in New Jersey to reject the "politics of division" by supporting Democrats in next month's state elections.

"You're going to send a message to the country and send a message to the world that we are rejecting a politics of division, we are rejecting a politics of fear, that we are embracing a politics that says everybody counts," Mr Obama told a cheering crowd in Newark that chanted: "Four more years."

Opinion polls show Mr Murphy, a former investment banker and U.S. ambassador to Germany, has a comfortable lead on Republican opponent Kim Guadagno, the New Jersey lieutenant governor, who is hindered by the unpopularity in the state of Mr Trump and Republican Governor Chris Christie.

But Mr Obama said no one should assume a victory is in the cards, making an indirect reference to Democrat Hillary Clinton's surprise loss last year in the presidential race.

Former US President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Ralph Northam (unseen) in RichmondCredit:
AFP

"You can't take this election or any election for granted. I don't know if you all noticed that, but you can't take any election for granted," he said.

It was the first of two public appearances by Mr Obama on Thursday on behalf of Democratic candidates for governor. Appearing later in Richmond, Virginia, he bemoaned the rise of racial politics, saying past prejudices the country thought it had "put to bed" have reemerged.

The first black president offered himself as proof that the country has moved forward, telling the crowd in Virginia - the former Capitol of the Confederacy - that he is a distant relative to Confederate President Jefferson Davis on his mother's side.

Barack Obama said "you can't take any election for granted"Credit:
AFP

He said modern politics increasingly did not reflect basic American values of inclusiveness and were driving people away from the process.

"We've got folks who are deliberately trying to make folks angry, to demonise people who have different ideas, to get the base all riled up because it provides a short-term tactical advantage. Sometimes that feels frustrating," Mr Obama said.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states holding elections for governor this year.

Those contests will be closely watched to see if Democrats can turn the grassroots resistance to Mr Trump into electoral wins after falling short earlier this year in four competitive special congressional elections.

The two governor's races, and a special election in December for a US Senate seat in Alabama, could be a preview of next year's congressional elections, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 of the Senate's 100 seats will be up for grabs. Republicans currently control both chambers.

Former US President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Ralph Northam (R) in RichmondCredit:
AFP

Former U.S. President Barack Obama campaigns in support of Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ralph Credit:
Reuters

But in New Jersey, Mr Obama focused on urging supporters to turn out their friends and families to vote. Democrats hope Mr Obama can help bring some of the young, minority and infrequent voters who powered his two elections to the White House out to the polls in off-year elections.

The political battleground of Virginia is viewed as a potential bellwether. Opinion polls show a close contest between Democrat Ralph Northam, the state's lieutenant governor, and Republican Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who has been endorsed by Mr Trump.

Mr Obama carried Virginia in both 2008 and 2012, and Democrat Hillary Clinton won the state over Trump by 5 percentage points in 2016. Mr Obama's vice president, Joe Biden, appeared recently with Northam, while Vice President Mike Pence campaigned in southwest Virginia's coal country for Gillespie.